Meaning & use
hen parties
Last updated
“hen parties” is a form of “hen party”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounpluralBritishinformal
Social events held for a woman who is about to get married, usually attended only by her female friends.
Grammar: The plural form 'hen parties' is used here; the singular is 'hen party', and it takes a plural verb.
Patterns
- a hen party for someone
- go to a hen party
- hold a hen party
She wore a pink sash and a veil at her hen party in Brighton.
My sister is planning a hen party for twenty people next month.
Hen parties in the UK often involve games, cocktails, and matching T-shirts.
nounpluralBritishold-fashioned
A small gathering of women for conversation or a shared activity, without any wedding connection.
Grammar: This older, looser sense is much less common today than the wedding sense.
Patterns
- a hen party of friends
In the novel, the older women meet for a quiet hen party every Thursday.
The village hall hosted a hen party for the sewing club.
Word forms
| singular | hen party |
|---|
Common combinations
- organize a hen party
- Her cousin offered to organize a hen party in the countryside.
- a hen party weekend
- They booked a hen party weekend in Barcelona.
- hen party games
- The hen party games got everyone laughing.
- go on a hen party
- She is going on a hen party in Prague next spring.
- hen do
- In Britain people also call it a 'hen do'.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bachelorette party
- The usual American term for the same event; 'hen party' is the standard British choice.
- hen night
- A British term that usually refers to a single evening out rather than a whole weekend.
- girls' night
- A general night out for women; it has no connection to a wedding.
Word family
- hen noun
- An adult female chicken, and informally a woman, though this use can sound rude.
- stag party noun
- The equivalent celebration for a man who is about to marry.
Commonly confused: hen parties or stag party? hen parties or hen do?
hen parties vs stag party
A stag party is for a man about to get married, while a hen party is for a woman.
hen parties vs hen do
'Hen do' is a very informal British variant of 'hen party'; both mean the same thing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'hen party' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A hen party is a celebration for a bride-to-be, so sentence B fits. Sentence An is wrong because a man's celebration is a stag party, and C and D confuse the word with a group of chickens or a dish.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hen parties”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.